Coming Together for him
by DarkAngel19881
Summary: Modern day Naruto. Naruto once having many friends, starts high school finding that he now has many enemies. But when Naruto gets sick will everyone come together and help him? or will he be left thinking he is unloved and unwanted.
1. Chapter 1

Coming Together for him

Chapter one

"Come on Naruto, we're going to be late on the first day." an overly excited Rock Lee proclaims. Naruto only laughs but continues at his slow pace. He wasn't like Rock Lee, he wasn't looking forward to going to Konoha High. Today was the first day of their ninth grade year, and while Naruto's friend's had been looking forward to starting high school, Naruto had not been. High school would be a lot more different than middle, for one the school was bigger and more kids went there. It didn't help either that Naruto's father was Mayor of Konoha. Naruto would have to once more prove that he was worthy of carrying the Namikaze name. His father might have been the Mayor but that didn't mean that Naruto could get by with doing whatever he wanted. In fact, Naruto thought he had to live more strictly because of the role his father carried. Sometimes Naruto hated it, his father was always busy, Naruto couldn't remember the last time they had actually spent anytime together. Naruto was often in bed by the time his father came home from city hall. Minato was well liked by the town people, he always tried to do what was best for everyone. Even if it meant giving up time with his son to do it.

Despite his many friend's Naruto rarely felt like he ever belonged. He was afraid that if people said or done something around him he would go running to his father about it. It put more pressure on Naruto to prove that he wasn't like that and often Naruto wondered if what he went through was worth it. He wondered how he could be happy with all that he had to deal with. None of his friend's understood because they didn't live with a public offical. He wished for once that he could be normal, that he didn't have to live with so much pressure.

"Come on Naruto" Sakura Haruno called as she passes Naruto in the hall. "stop worrying so much." Naruto smiles as he watches Sakura's pink hair disappear into the crowd. Sakura was probably Naruto's closest friend, if you could call her that. She was the one Naruto talked to the most. Although most days she acted like it was a pain to be around Naruto. Of course, it didn't take very much to annoy Sakura.

Shaking his head, Naruto follows Sakura into the classroom, the two making their way to the back of the room.

Sitting in the desk beside Sakura, Naruto looks towards the front of the room at the sensei sitting at his desk waiting patiently for his students to enter. A few minutes later Ino enter and heads for the seat behind Sakura. Naruto rolled his eyes, Ino got on his nerves with the way she always had to compete with Sakura over everything. He didn't understand why they couldn't be friends without competing but he didn't really want to understand it.

"There's a new kid" Ino said excitedly "and he's super hot. His name is Sasuke Uchiha." she tells Sakura who also gets excited and Naruto wonders what the deal is. He was sure that this Sasuke wasn't the only one starting school here today, but he was probably the only one being gossiped about.

Sighing, Naruto turns his attention to the front of the room, the instructor looked nice enough. He was short, had a scar across the middle of his nose, and wore his hair in pineapple shaped ponytail.

"I'm Iruka" the man introduces himself "and I am going to be your instructor for the next few months." Naruto found his attention wondering from the teacher to the door, when the door opened. A dark haired young man sulked into the room, and started towards the first empty seat that he could find.

"Sasuke, you're late" Iruka said and Sasuke shrugged obviously not caring whether he was on time or not.

"From now on try to be on time." Iruka continued with explaining how things were going to be in his class. All in all Naruto thought it sounded pretty easy.

Naruto found his eyes drawn towards Sasuke who took the desk in front of Naruto. He didn't see why the girls seemed to think he was so special, he seemed too pale and broody to Naruto, of course he could be wrong but he didn't think he was.

As if sensing Naruto's eyes on his back, Sasuke turns and glares at Naruto. The harsh looking causing Naruto to flinch. Whatever Sasuke's reasons for being here it was clear it was the last place that he wanted to be.

"Problems faggot?" Sasuke asked loudly, drawing the classes attention to the two of them. Naruto opened his mouth to protest but the found the words wouldn't come out.

"Stupid faggot has nothing to say" Sasuke spit out before turning back around, embarrassed Naruto stared down at his desk. Looking up, he found Sakura staring at him with a disgusted look in her eyes.

"I'm not gay" Naruto mouthed but she turned away and whispered something to Ino, who also glared at him. Naruto tightened his hands into fists, he knew by the end of the day his reputation would likely be in shreds thanks to Sasuke, because after announcing it to the class like he did, Naruto knew tongues would be wagging and it was just a matter of time before the rest of the school found out.

As soon as the bell rang, Naruto grabbed his things and rushed out of the room. He didn't want to hear whatever Sakura had to say, he was sure that she would find some kind of truth in what Sasuke said, after all Naruto had never had a girlfriend and had spent most of his time hanging out with her when they weren't busy. Naruto sighed, he was sure word would get back to his father, and his father would be disappointed in him. Because Naruto's actions seemed to directly reflect on what Minato had taught him. Even Naruto was gay, he didn't see what was so wrong with it. Everyone deserved love even if they liked the same sex.

As Naruto entered his next classroom, he nodded at the silver haired masked man sitting at the teachers desk and made his way to a desk close to the front. He wondered if Sakura knew about his crush on her and then decided that she didn't. because if she did she wouldn't even consider Sasuke's words about him being gay.

As Naruto waited for the class to start he kept his eyes on his desk as Sasuke walked past with Sakura and Ino following closely behind him.

"Not going to sit with your friend's faggot?" Sasuke sneered loudly "are you afraid they won't like you because you like boys?" Naruto blushed because once again Sasuke had made sure the nearly filled room had heard him. Naruto felt tears fill his eyes and he wondered why this stranger hated him so completely when Naruto hadn't done anything to him.

"That's enough from you." The silver haired man said standing up. "You're bullying will not be tolerated, and if you make another remark you will be sent to the office." The teacher threatened and for a moment Naruto felt a brief moment of relief, at least someone was willing to stand up for him. Sasuke shrugs and sits down, apparently not caring that he had gotten into trouble. Of course, he didn't care Naruto thought bitterly, he had single handedly destroyed Naruto's reputation with just a few words. Of course it didn't matter that he had gotten into trouble because the damage was already done.

"I'm Kakashi" The silver haired man introduced himself and for the next forty five minutes explained how things would be in his classroom.

When that class was over, Naruto found himself heading towards the lunch room, spotting Sakura and Ino, after going through the line, Naruto headed towards their table. When he sat down both Ino and Sakura climbed to their feet and went over to Sasuke's table and sat down.

Embarrassed, Naruto stared down at his tray wondering why Sasuke seemed to take so much pleasure out of tormenting Naruto. As he sat there, he heard his schoolmates whispering, his name and faggot in the same sentence. Ashamed, Naruto stared down at his lunch tray, no longer hungry. As he was about to get up two large football players approached him. Swallowing hard, Naruto avoided looking them in the eyes.

"You're done eating" the larger one stated picking the tray up and dumping the contents over Naruto's head. Laughter could be heard all over the room, as potatoes and gravy ran from his hair to the front of his shirt.

Naruto started to walk off when both players grabbed him by the arms and marched him out of the lunch room.

"You can't do this." Naruto protested as they exited the room and Naruto found himself thrown against a row of lockers.

"Rumors has it that you're a faggot and you're crushing on me." the more heavily muscled football player who Naruto didn't even know his name.

"I'm not a…." Naruto started to protest when he felt a harsh blow to his ribs that knocked him to his knees. Naruto placed and arm around his ribs already knowing that the hit had broken or fractured a rib.

"We don't like faggots around here." the football players stated as he hauled back and gave Naruto a sharp kick to the ribs, snapping the arm that Naruto had wrapped around his ribs. Naruto cried out, as tears filled his eyes.

"Cry me a river, stupid faggot baby." the football players taunted as they proceeded to kick Naruto over and over.

Unable to handle anymore punishment, Naruto collapses onto the floor, blood escaping his lips as he gave a harsh cough. Naruto was desperate for the pain to stop. Coughing again, more blood pushed past his lips as agony was pulsing through him.

"Please stop" Naruto murmurs, as he sees a foot heading towards his head. As soon as the foot made contact, Naruto could feel himself losing consciousness even as he could feel himself falling away from the pain. Naruto thought he heard someone holler for the football players to stop what they were doing.

"not a faggot" Naruto murmured as he closed his eyes and surrendered to the pain.

TBC

Let me know if you want more. And I am thinking about doing a newsletter just for my fanfiction stories is that something you would be interested in? Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz


	2. Chapter 2

Coming together for him

Chapter 2

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, blinking at the harsh light that filled the room. As his eyes slowly adjusted and he looked around, Naruto realized that he was in the hospital. Naruto blinked slowly, trying to remember what had happened for him to end up here. Did one of his many pranks fail? Swallowing, Naruto found it hard to do so because there was something in his mouth. Panic began to set in, and Naruto moaned as his ribs protested his movement.

"Shhh." A calming voice came from his beside him. "Don't move, you will only hurt yourself more." Naruto turned his head slowly and found his father sitting beside him with a worried expression on his face.

"Don't try to talk, you have a tube in your throat helping you breath." Minato explained his hand gently pushing Naruto's away from the tube. "A broken rib punctured your lung, causing it to collapse. We almost lost you." Minato explained after a moment of watching Naruto try to remove the tube from his throat.

Naruto could hear the tears in his father's voice, and he wondered how his prank had gone so wrong that he ended up in this condition. Using his uninjured hand, Naruto reached out and gently touched his father's hand. He wanted to reassure him that he wasn't going anywhere but he was still so weak that Naruto couldn't be sure of that himself.

As if sensing Naruto's fight to stay awake, Minato reached out and touched his son's cheek.

"Rest now, son" he said gently "rest so that your body can heal." Minato watched as his son's eyes slowly dropped closed and he was once more unconscious.

Minato remembering being at the office, working on a deal that would improve the town as a whole. He had been blindly concentrating when he heard his phone ringing.

" _hello" Minato had muttered not wanting to stop writing until the email was complete._

" _Mr. Mayor, this is Konoha High calling in regards to your son Naruto." Minato had groaned inwardly. What had Naruto done now, on the first day of school no less._

" _Yes, what has he done?" Minato asked "and can I deal with it after school hours."_

" _You misunderstand me sir" the principle stated "Naruto has been rushed to the hospital." Minato paused in his typing, still thinking that it was some prank of Naruto's that had gone wrong. "I'm afraid its of great importance that you go and meet him at the hospital."_

 _A few minutes later, Minato was off the phone. Irritated that Naruto had done something that had once again interrupted his work. When he was finished with Naruto, the kid would be lucky if he didn't spend the next year grounded. Minato would be really ticked if Naruto had ended up just breaking an arm or a leg._

 _Once at the hospital though, Minato got the shock of his life._

" _Come with me sir." the chief of staff requested and Minato followed him into an office._

" _What's going on, what did Naruto break?" Minato asked._

" _I'm afraid he's broken several ribs and an arm." the man replied "at the moment your son is in critical condition, and I'm not a hundred percent certain that he's going to pull through." Minato's face paled at the information. Whatever he had thought Naruto had done this wasn't what he'd expected to hear._

" _What happened?" Minato heard himself asking, he couldn't believe this. This had to be some kind of nightmare that he could wake up from at any moment._

" _He was rushed to the hospital after being severely beaten." Jiraya explained "he has internal bleeding that will require surgery to fix and his broken ribs punctured a lung causing it to collapse. At the moment we are trying to re-inflate the lung and control the internal bleeding."_

" _What's the prognosis?" Minato asked._

" _At the moment his condition is critical, and if things and if the lung can't be inflated once more I am afraid we will lose him." Jiraya answered as honestly as possible. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but I promise we are trying everything we can to save him."_

" _When can I see my son?" Minato asked, struggling to control the rage he was starting to feel. How could the school allow something like this to happen?_

" _He's still in surgery and probably will for the next few hours, so it's going to be a little while." Jiraya answered._

" _Long enough for me to find out some answers from the school?" Minato asked and the doctor nodded._

 _Thirty minutes later Minato found himself sitting in front of the Konoha high principle. A silver haired man was sitting next to Minato._

" _I'm Kakashi" he introduced himself to Minato. "I'm the one that found the players beating your son up."_

" _Does anyone know why this happened?" Minato demanded, angrier than he had ever been. "There should be no reason that my son is fighting for his life at the moment."_

" _Naruto had an incident with another student in my class." Kakashi explained "The student called Naruto out for being gay. The kid's name is Sasuke Uchiha."_

" _Did this Uchiha have anything to do with Naruto being beaten?" Minato asked._

" _The kid is angry but I am not sure that he would do something like this" Kakashi answered "I think he just spews words, I don't think he is capable of doing something so violent."_

" _I want to talk to him" Minato answered. And a few minutes later Sasuke found himself standing in front of Minato and Kakashi with Asuma sitting at his desk._

" _Mr. Uchiha" Asuma said "we heard you had an incident with Naruto early this morning."_

" _I got the queer staring at me and I said something about it." Sasuke said._

" _Did you have anything to do with him getting beaten up?" Asuma asked and Sasuke frowned. He had heard that Naruto had gotten rushed to the hospital but he hadn't really cared. He just wanted to get out of school._

" _No, just because I don't like him doesn't mean I would want to see him hurt." Sasuke answered truthfully. Minato stared at the boy, his mind going in circles._

" _How did you come up with the idea that my son is gay?" Minato asked._

" _I heard someone in the office talking about how the mayors gay son would be starting school hear, and that he would have fun trying to fit in. Sense no one tolerates kids that are gay." Sasuke answered. "I didn't start the rumor some older kids did." Minato wondered if those older kids were responsible for getting Naruto beaten up._

" _Thank you Sasuke, but until someone comes forth with information that proves your innocence, I am going to have no choice but to suspend you." Asuma said. Sasuke glared._

" _I just started here you can't suspend me already." he muttered._

" _The two football players were expelled on the first day." Asuma said firmly "I don't think you want to join their ranks do you?_

" _My brother would kill me" Sasuke muttered and turned and walked out the door. Minato who could tell who was lying from a mile away could tell that Sasuke was telling the truth._

" _We have to find those boys and when we do" Minato stated "I am filing attempted murder charges!"_

 _An hour later, Minato found himself once again sitting in Jiraya's office, waiting for news on Naruto._

" _The good news is Naruto made it through the surgery." Jiraya said entering the room._

" _Does that mean he's going to survive?" Minato asked almost fearing the answer._

" _Naruto's condition is still critical so if he makes it, its going to be up to him to fight." Jiraya answered "and I know you want to see him, and normally I wouldn't allow you to this early. But I think it might do Naruto some good to have you sit with him for a little bit." that being said Minato followed Jiraya down the hall. When he entered Naruto's room. He couldn't believe what he saw. Naruto was unconscious, his chest wrapped in bandages, and his right arm in a cast. What bothered Minato the most was the tube going down Naruto's throat._

" _He needs help breathing until his lung is strong enough to do it for him." Jiraya explained. "he won't have to remain on the respirator for too long if he starts to breath more easily." Minato nodded and walked over to Naruto's side._

" _Keep fighting for me, Naruto, don't give up now."_

Minato shook his head clearing the memories, it had been a week now, and Naruto was barely regaining consciousness. He knew it would take time for Naruto to heal but Minato thought that Naruto would have made more progress by now. Whatever had happened to Naruto at school, this beating really had nothing to do with whether he was gay or not. Minato believed that it had been an assassination attempt on Naruto's life disguised by the gay issue. Someone didn't like the way Minato was making changes in Konoha and they were trying to stop him. He hoped they found the people responsible for it soon, because he feared for Naruto's life. Maybe next time they would succeed in killing Naruto when no one was around. Minato didn't like thinking like that but he had to be practical. He was going to have to find some kind of body guard for Naruto.

"How's he doing this morning" Tsuande, Naruto's surgeon asks as she enters the room.

"He woke up for a few minutes." Minato answers as he watches Tsuande check Naruto's bandages.

"His incisions look good" Tsuande said and turned to look at the monitors "And it looks like his lung function is slowly improving. Which means he may come off the respirator soon. This kid was lucky to make it to the hospital alive."

"What would drive a teen to nearly beat another teen to death? What could Naruto have done to deserve this." Tsuande was a close friend of Minato's so she knew Naruto and his father well.

"That's what I would like to know" Minato replied "something isn't right about this situation, those boys claimed that someone paid them to do it, but they won't come out and tell them who did paid them. Why did this happen on the first day of school. The instructor that caught the boys beating him told me that Naruto had a run in with Sasuke Uchiha, who accused Naruto of being gay. I talked to Sasuke and he claims not to have had anything to do with Naruto getting beaten up. He claims that he heard someone in the office talking about it. That much he sounded truthful about but he is still suspended until the truth comes out."

"Sounds like a case of you shouldn't believe everything you hear." Tsuande commented "Can't fault the kid for being stupid and repeating it."

"Maybe not but he better hope someone comes forth with information leading to the arrest of the person responsible or he will be taking the blame for it." Minato said grimly. He wasn't going to take risks when it came to Naruto's safety. He might not get to spend a lot of time with his Naruto, but he loved his son more than life itself. Seeing the normally hyperactive teenager lying so still was killing Minato. It wasn't normal, Minato's heart ached just looking at the unconscious boy and he wondered if there had been anything that he could have done to prevent this. Minato couldn't imagine who would want to hurt Naruto, the kid could be a handful with all the pranks that he played, but it was never with any ill intent towards anyone. Naruto wouldn't hurt a fly, so who could be so cruel to try and snuff Naruto's life out before it even really got started. Minato wouldn't stop searching until he found out who was responsible, he would make sure they got the punishment they deserved.

"Keep fighting for me Naruto." Minato stood and bent down pressing a gentle kiss to Naruto's bruised forehead.

 **What did you think? And Naruto's hospitalization isn't even the beginning of his being sick. PLEASE review Thanks for reading and reviewing. Liz**


	3. Chapter 3

Coming Together for him

Chapter 3

The next time Naruto regained consciousness, he found that the tube had been removed from his throat, leaving an aching throat. Naruto raised his uninjured hand and rubbed at his throat.

"Dad" Naruto croaked, his throat dry and hurting.

"Hey, kiddo" Minato said softly raising his eyes from the book that he had been reading. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got ran over" Naruto muttered "what happened? How did I end up hear?"

"You got beat up at a school." Minato said frowning. "You've been here for a week now."

"What did they do to me? Most beatings don't result in a week long stay in the hospital." Naruto said.

"They broke four of your ribs, one of which punctured your lung and caused it to collapse. That's the reason why your throat hurts, you have a tube down your throat helping you breathe. There for a while the doctors weren't sure you were going to make it." Minato told him.

"Just a little bit excessive for a beating isn't it?" Naruto asked.

"That's just it, I think it was an attempt on your life disguised as a beating. If you're teacher hadn't found you when he did, those boys probably would have killed you." Minato explained.

"They done because they think I'm gay." Naruto muttered bitterly.

"I don't think so" Minato disagreed. "I don't think it had anything to do with that issue at all. I think it's because your my son and someone saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. By trying to use the 'I don't tolerate gay kids' excuse they are hiding their real motives. Motives that will be found out and dealt with!"

"Why would someone want me dead because of you?" Naruto asked even though speaking hurt his throat even more.

"Because of a deal that I am working on" Minato said "I am trying to clean up the corruption that's trying hard to get its claws into the Konoha government."

"And they felt that killing me would stop you?" Naruto wondered.

"That's usually how those mob types work. If they can't stop me they will go after my family and sense my wife is dead. That leaves you, which means that you're going to have to be extra careful when you go back to school." Minato said thoughtfully.

"I don't want to go back." Naruto said "all my friends seemed to have left me to join that prick Sasuke's side."

"You don't really have to worry about him right now," Minato informed Naruto "He's been suspended for the time being."

"That's just awesome because when he gets back he's going to have even more reason to hate me." Naruto grumbled as he shuffled a little in the bed, moaning when he hit his sore ribs.

"Maybe not, I don't think he had anything to do with you getting beaten up." Minato told him.

"Of course he did, those guys were accusing me of being gay, and Sasuke was the one who started that rumor." Naruto protested.

"No, he wasn't" Minato said "he overheard someone talking about it in the office when he got registered for school. I'm just wondered if he can recognize who they were." Naruto sighed.

"if he overheard someone talking about me and he just started school. How did he know who I was. I'm pretty sure new kids don't know anyone on their first day."

"Maybe he saw you when you're friends were with you." Minato suggested. Naruto frowned, it really sounded like his father wanted to believe Sasuke despite what the evidence was saying in the contrary.

"Sasuke is an angry kid, that doesn't mean he's a homicidal maniac." Minato pointed out. "he didn't want to move here, in the first place."

"So that gives him the right to be a bully?" Naruto asks. He couldn't believe this, Naruto was recovering from an attack that had nearly killed him. And the one person that could have been responsible for ordering the attack, his father didn't believe that it could be him.

"No, there is no excuse for calling you out for your lifestyle." Minato said "how you chose to live is your business."

"Oh, for crying out loud, I'm not gay!" Naruto cried out.

"I've never seen you with a girlfriend." Minato pointed out

"You've seen me hanging out with Sakura" Naruto muttered "that doesn't mean that I prefer males."

"When can I get out of here?" Naruto asked changing the subject.

"In a couple days if you continue to do well." Minato said. "you'll probably have another week off from school though." Naruto groaned school had just started and he was already behind. At this point he would be lucky if he didn't spend the rest of his life doing make up work.

"Be thankful you're still alive." Minato said softly "I could be getting ready to bury you." Naruto eyes softened he knew that his current position was easy for his father. He also knew he would be putting up with some crazy safety measures for the foreseeable future.

"I love you Dad." Naruto burst out suddenly, he didn't ever tell his father that much, but knowing that Minato had just spent the past week sitting beside his hospital bed, unsure of whether or not his only son would live, had to have been painful.

"I love you too" Minato said "so much. This past week has been the worst kind of hell, but I can promise that I won't allow something like this to happen again." Naruto gave him a weak smile, it wouldn't always be possible to prevent an attack from happening but Naruto would be more than happy if his dad could prevent it.

"I need to go to the house for a little bit, but I promise I will be back sometime tonight."

"Do what you have to." Naruto murmured "I'm starting to get tired again."

"It's going to take time for you to get your strength back." Minato replied and stayed until Naruto's eyes had dropped closed.

Twenty minutes after Minato left, a slim blonde haired figure slid into the room. He had a syringe in his left hand. He watched the kid sleep for a few minutes, not liking that the fact that it was a child that he had been ordered to kill. If he didn't do it however, his boss would put an end to him and his family.

Shaking his head the man, raised the hand with the syringe and stuck it into Naruto's uninjured arm. The poison within would bring on an unexpected heart attack the man didn't believe that in Naruto's current condition he would be able to survive.

The man waited while the effects of the poison started almost immediately, Naruto's eyes popped open and the man could see pure agony in them. Naruto brought his free hand to his chest, clutching at it, even as he started to lose consciousness.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, kid, you shouldn't have to pay for your father's mistakes." that being said the man turned and walked out of the room, knowing that at any moment that the alarms in Naruto's room would be going off.

 **If you want the next chapter quickly leave a review or ten!**

 **Enjoy reading Liz**


	4. Chapter 4

Coming Together for him

Chapter 4

Tsunade had been doing her rounds, when she saw the blonde haired man slip out of Naruto's room. She wasn't sure but she had a sinking feeling that Naruto's condition was somehow going to be worse. She studied the retreating man for a moment wondering if she had seen him before, there was something about him that was familiar. Shaking her head, Tsuande entered Naruto's room, to see the child's mouth open gasping in pain as he writhed.

Rushing over, Tsuande grabbed a syringe that was filled with clot busting agents. It was supposed to be for her other heart attack patient but right now she decided that Naruto needed it more. Inserting the needle in the crook of his arm. She prayed silently that the medication would work.

Naruto cried out, his filling with tears. He didn't understand why his chest hurt so bad. He thought he heard someone say they were sorry for doing this, that a child shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of their father, but then Naruto thought he had been dreaming after everything his father and him had talked about.

"Hang on Naruto, this medicine is going to help it stop hurting so much." Tsunade murmured as she silently counted the seconds until the medicine kicked in.

Turning Tsuande called out of the room asking for assistance. She needed to find out if any kind of damage had been done to Naruto's heart.

"Hey, Naruto" Tsuande said softly and the kids pain filled eyes met hers.

"I'm going to insert a catheter and check your heart to see if you have any more blockages and to see if any damage was done to your heart." Naruto nodded weakly, the pain was gone but he was still sore and he really just wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep.

Twenty minutes later Tsuande had inserted a balloon looking catheter into Naruto's upper thigh. As she made her way towards his heart. She noticed a foreign looking substance in his blood stream. Whatever it was had been broken into tiny particles making it hard to see what they were. The closer Tsuande got to Naruto's heart the more particles there were, leaving no doubt that this substance had somehow gotten inserted into his bloodstream and once there it had made his way to Naruto's heart, where it had grown firm and blocked Naruto's heart from getting the blood that it needed. Tsuande scowled, she would have to find a way to draw this substance out of him, she couldn't take the risk that it would get firm again and cause another blockage.

Twenty minutes later the procedure was finished and Naruto was lying barely awake. He knew whatever Tsuande had found wasn't good, because she saw the sadness in her eyes.

"I'm going to go talk to your father kid, he deserves to know what happened." Tsuande said.

"Don't want to be alone." Naruto struggled to say "what if he comes back?"

"I'm not leaving you" Tsuande told the boy "I'm not taking that risk again, but your father does need to know about this attack. Maybe we can get some security in here." Naruto nodded, all his energy seeming to have left all at once. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

Tsuande watched him for a few minutes, hoping that she would be able to protect the kid. She didn't want to see him die before his time.

Thirty minutes later, Minato arrived in a rush. Tsuande hated the fear that she saw in his eyes, hated that the fear was there to begin with.

"What happened?" he demanded as he walked over to Naruto's bed, and looked him over.

"We suspect someone slipped in after you left. I got a glimpse of the guy and the police are trying to find him."

"I should have known this would happen." Minato groaned. "Someone wants me to stop the work I'm doing and they will do anything to do it."

"Keep doing working on it, they are going to make a mistake eventually and the police will catch him." Tsunade said.

"Before or after Naruto is killed?" Minato asked "This deal isn't worth my son losing his life over. He's the only thing I have left from my wife, and I would like to see him grow up and start a family of his own." Minato reached out and touched Naruto's cheek. He wished that his son was awake so that he could reassure himself that Naruto was going to pull through.

"How serious is the damage to his heart?" Minato asked.

"Serious enough that he will need a transplant sometime in the near future. We have him stabilized for now though, so he will pull through tonight." Tsunade assured Minato. "When I checked his heart with the catheter, I noticed a foreign substance in his blood stream. The closer I got to his heart the more there was. So I believe the substance gets firms and forms a blockage in Naruto's heart. Now, I am going to remove it in hopes that it doesn't get firm and bring on a more fatal heart attack."

Minato closed his eyes, this was the first time in his years as Mayor that he regretted taking the job. Never before had his son's life been placed on the line because of his work. Minato wasn't sure he even wanted to do this job anymore especially if Naruto didn't make it. Minato's life would be over if Naruto didn't find the strength to pull through.

"How long will it take to remove that substance?" Minato asked.

"A few hours, but the process isn't pain free." Tsunade replied "It would be much like being on dialysis for kidney failure."

"Do what you have to" Minato replied "I don't want to risk Naruto having another heart attack." Tsunade nodded and turned and left the room to get the supplies she would need.

Once she was gone, Minato looked over at Naruto. Reaching out, he grabbed Naruto's hand.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't hear when you needed me to protect you." Minato started "Once again I put my job before you thinking foolishly that you would be okay in the hospital. How wrong my thinking was. It almost cost you your life yet again." Minato felt tears in his eyes. He didn't want to even think about life without Naruto. "I don't ever tell you enough that I love you, but I do so much. If you pull through this, I promise I will take more time to spend with you." Minato closed his eyes, he hated thinking about all the times he had neglected Naruto because there was something that had to be done at work. Starting now, Minato was done doing that. He would be around to protect Naruto, even if he had to give up his job.

"I'm sorry, kid, so damn sorry." Minato cried, and lowered his head on the mattress next to Naruto's head. "All the pain you're going through is because of me. I wish I could take your place, but I can't. I can only try and promise that it doesn't happen again. I feel like a crappy father for not being able to protect you. You don't even know how much I love you."

"It's okay, Minato" Tsunade said as she reentered the room. "Naruto has the best caregivers around, we will make sure he pulls through. I promise you, you won't be burying him anytime soon!"

"I wish I knew that was the truth, if we don't find these guys responsible, I fear for all of our sanity." Minato said softly "I can't bear to think about what Naruto's going to be like emotionally after all this is over."

"He'll probably be scared for a little while and he won't want you too far away from him because he'll be unsure of his own safety. But I know that you love him and you will give him the help that he needs to pull through, you and his friends will see him through this."

"What friend's?" Minato asked "I haven't seen a single kid visit him. No one from school." Tsuande sighed she didn't know what to say to that. Kids were cruel that she knew, but why none of his friends bothered to even call in and check on him, it bothered her more than she was willing to admit. If it were Sakura or Rock Lee or someone Naruto would have been here from the time school was out until visiting hours were over. Naruto had the biggest heart of anyone that she knew. The fact that his love wasn't reciprocated made her wonder about his so called friends.

"He'll always have a friend in me." Tsunade said softly leaning over and brushing Naruto's hair out of his eyes. "He's a special kid with a big heart. One day he will find someone who appreciates the size of his heart."

Minato sighed thinking for a moment about the person that he had hired to sit with Naruto when he wasn't available. Itachi Uchiha would be starting security for Naruto starting tomorrow. He just hoped that Itachi was as good at guard duty as he was at being an undercover cop. Whatever the cost, Minato would find out who had done this to Naruto. And he would prevent it from happening to someone else's son or daughter. No parent deserved to spend their time wondering if their child was strong enough to pull through when the odds were against them surviving.

"I have someone coming to sit with Naruto tomorrow. Someone who is very good at their job. He's going to help me find out what's going on and put an end to it." Minato said "I'm done playing with Naruto's life. This situation will end and it will end with the people responsible in prison paying for their crimes."

"Good" Tsuande said "I don't think it would be a good idea to leave Naruto alone anymore. Someone must really hate what you're doing." Minato sighed and looked down at Naruto's peaceful looking face. He looked so much like his late wife, it was like almost having her there in the room with him.

"I never meant for this to happen" Minato spoke to Naruto "If I had known that those people would take things this far, maybe I wouldn't have continued doing what I was doing. I would have given up my work to keep you safe. Naruto, my son, I only ever wanted what was best for you. I know with me being Mayor it put a lot of pressure on your shoulders, pressure you shouldn't have had to carry alone. But I was too busy thinking about Konoha citizens and not enough time thinking about you. But I promise things are going to change, if you just pull through I will cut back on my hours, I will do anything for you." tears filled Minato's eyes as he thought about what would happen if Naruto didn't pull through. Minato would have to plan a funeral and he would have to bury Naruto. Minato wasn't ready for that, he didn't think he would ever be ready for it. What parent wanted to bury their child? Children were supposed to outlive the parents.

Minato closed his eyes and rested his head on the mattress. Drifting to sleep quickly from being so exhausted after a day of trying to find the people who had put his son in the hospital.

 _Minato opened his eyes, looked around him, he was sitting in a church, a casket sat at the front of a church, as he stood and walked towards the front, he found his son's lifeless face lying in the coffin. Minato reaches out and places his hand on Naruto's chest, longing to feel his son's heartbeat, but Naruto's chest was still, his lungs no longer drawing in air. Tears filled Minato's eyes, this was his fault. He hadn't been able to find those who had attacked his son, and they had somehow found a way past Minato's defenses and gotten to Naruto. This time they had placed a pillow over Naruto's face and held it until the kid had stopped breathing. Minato remembered waking up the next morning, needing to get Naruto up for school. It had been a trial getting Naruto to go back to school after everything that he had been through, but Minato had finally succeeded._

 _Getting out of bed, Minato had stumbled into Naruto's bedroom, only to find Naruto staring up at the ceiling, his lips blue and his face drained of color. Minato had rushed to Naruto's side, crying out for his son not to leave him. Tears had spilled down Minato's face and onto Naruto's lifeless face. Minato remembered holding Naruto close to him as he sobbed. He couldn't believe they had managed to get to his son after everything Minato had done to try and protect him. Nothing Minato had done worked, and it left him feeling heartbroken as he realized he would now have to bury his only child._

" _Please come back to me Naruto" Minato had pleaded bending down and pressing his forehead to Naruto's. "You can't leave me like this. You still have to graduate from high school and college and you have to get married and start your own family. You can't do that if you leave me behind!" it was at that point that Minato felt Itachi's eyes on him, as he approached and kneeled down beside the two Namikaze's. Minato clutched Naruto to him, afraid that if he let him go his body would disappear leaving Minato with nothing but memories. He felt Itachi reach out and place two fingers on Naruto's wrist._

" _He's gone." Itachi spoke softly confirming Minato's worst fears._

" _I don't want him to be gone" Minato said his voice sounding strange to his own ears. He knew he was in shock but he couldn't bring himself to care. The only living thing he had left from his wife was now gone. How was Minato supposed to move on from this? How did a parent survive the lose of a child? That wasn't a question that Minato wanted the answer to. He just wanted his son to be alive._

 _Closing his eyes, Minato opened them again after a moment and the memory of finding Naruto so still in his bed was gone, replaced by the image of Naruto lying in a coffin. Minato wasn't ready for this, he had never thought that he would have to bury his child._

" _Naruto, I'm so sorry." Minato cried, reaching out and placing his hand over Naruto's still heart. His child who had the biggest heart of anyone he knew, was now gone. Minato bent his head and pressed a kiss to Naruto's forehead. He was nowhere near ready to let his son go, but Naruto deserved to be laid to rest. He deserved to rest easy in the arms of his mother once again._

" _Kushina, please tell me you were there to greet our boy." Minato said looking up at the ceiling. "He didn't deserve to die, but since he's gone, I hope he is with you. I know that I will see you once again when my time on earth is through."_

Don't kill me! Thanks for reading and reviewing. Liz.


	5. Chapter 5

Coming Together for him

Chapter 5

Minato jerked awake, breathing hard. He closed his eyes for a moment thankful that it had only been a dream. He couldn't help but wonder if his subconscious was trying to warn him about something. He certainly hoped not, he couldn't handle much more.

Looking over at his son, he noticed the bright sheen of sweat on Naruto's forehead. Reaching out, Minato touched Naruto's head and winced at the heat that he felt. Whatever was going on, this wasn't good. It felt like Naruto had a high fever. Getting up, Minato told Itachi to stay with Naruto while he went to find Tsunade. Something was going on with Naruto and he didn't like it.

Twenty minutes later, Tsunade was examining Naruto.

"He's got a high fever which means he probably has an infection somewhere."

"From where and why didn't it kick in before now?" Minato asked. Tsuande frowned she didn't like it. She wondered if the fever had something to do with his heart. Naruto's heartbeat wasn't as strong as she would like it to be. It almost seemed like Naruto had gotten worse during the night. Tsuande also wondered if this was some kind of after effect of the substance found in his blood stream. She didn't like the thought of that, it would mean that they would have to wait and see if Naruto pulled through on his own. Chances of that though were slim because he was already in pretty bad shape.

"I'm going to give him some medicine to try and counter the effects of that substance." Tsuande told Minato and Itachi "But I'm not holding on to too much hope that it's going to help. I hate to say it but at this point if Naruto pulls through it will be because of him." Minato closed his eyes and tried to stop the tears that filled his eyes. This couldn't be happening? Why wasn't he waking from this everlasting nightmare?

"Don't give up on him yet." Tsunade told Minato "He may find a way to surprise us yet."

"I'm not sure how" Minato muttered "You said it yourself the odds of him making it are slim."

"Slim but not impossible." Tsuande agreed and she stuck a syringe into Naruto's IV line. She hoped it would help. She didn't want to see this young man suffer anymore than he already had.

Sighing, Minato sat back down beside Naruto's bed, while Itachi went and stood outside of the room. He would sit with Naruto when Minato had to go to work. Minato hoped that Itachi would be able to find out whoever was doing this to him and put a stop to it. Minato knew the circumstances in which Itachi found himself brought to Konoha. In fact his situation was scarily enough like Minato's that he trusted the man implicitly already. Itachi's parents had been killed by someone blackmailing them, when his parents hadn't complied to the wishes they had been killed. Itachi was here to find the killers and to protect his little brother from the wrath of these people. Minato hoped that Itachi could find peace when this was over with, Sasuke too.

Looking over his shoulder, Minato looked at the young man dressed in black standing guard at the door. The expression on Itachi's face was enough to keep anyone from entering the room without permission. Minato was thankful that he had met someone so willing to do whatever it took to protect not only his own loved ones, but someone else's as well.

Hearing a moan, Minato turns back to the bed, to see Naruto staring at him from half closed eyelids.

"Dad" he murmured weakly "you're hear."

"There's no other place I would rather be son" Minato said reaching out and taking Naruto's hand, as Naruto slid back into sleep. Minato couldn't help but be worried, Naruto's fever didn't show any sign of breaking anytime soon, and that scared Minato more than anything, because it meant that Naruto was knocking on death's door, and Minato couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Don't leave me!" Minato pleaded for what felt like the millionth time. "I don't know what I would do if you left." Minato closed his eyes and bent in his head in silent prayer. He wasn't sure if anyone was listening but he had to do something more than just sit there. He hated feeling this helpless, it was the worst feeling in the world to watch someone you love suffer. Kushina had been diagnosed with MS when she was a teen and for a long time she had been okay, but then her health started deteriorating after Naruto had been born. Naruto had only been a year old when his mother died. Minato had never regretting loving Kushina but he wished that Naruto had been able to know her long enough that he would have at least had some memories of her.

"Kushina, if you take our son to live with you. Keep him safe and let him know that he is very much loved." Minato murmured. When he was in a situation that he didn't know what to do with, he often talked to Kushina as if she was there. He wished more than anything that she could be here now to help him get through this.

Sighing, Minato glanced at the watch on his wrist. As much as he hated to leave Naruto in this condition, Minato had to get to work. He was trying to help the police catch the main guys that had hired the football players to hurt Naruto.

"I promise Naruto, after this they will never be able to hurt you again." as Minato exited the room, he nodded at Itachi who went to stand inside the room. Minato had no doubt that no one would get past him. Minato did wonder who kept on eye on Sasuke while Itachi was playing guard dog, because if Minato remembered correctly Sasuke was in just as much danger as Naruto was. Whoever these guys were Minato hoped they burned in hell for the pain they were causing.

A few hours later, Naruto's eyes fully opened to find the man dressed in black sitting next to him.

"Who are you?" he questioned weakly.

"I'm Itachi Uchiha" Itachi answered "I'm here to make sure you stay safe during your hospital stay."

"Where were you yesterday." Naruto muttered thinking about the guy that had slipped in and had put something in his IV.

"Out catching the guy that slipped you the meds that gave you a heart attack." Itachi replied and Naruto frowned.

"They caught him?"

"Yes, Deidara has been apprehended, now we are just waiting for him to lead us to the main guys, and he will eventually." Itachi said.

"It didn't take too long to find him." Naruto said, growing tired once more.

"That's because someone wanted us to catch him. I believe they want us to find them for what reason I do not know." Itachi commented.

Naruto closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep. Itachi watched him closely, it seemed like Naruto's fever was finally starting to go down. That was a good thing, it meant Naruto might be peeling himself away from death's grip. He certainly hoped Naruto pulled through, Itachi saw just how much Minato loved his son, and it reminded him of his own father. Itachi had never missed his parents more than he did in that moment.  
"Dad" Itachi said softly "I found a family in the same mess you and mom were in. They went after the man's only son and nearly killed him. But I think I can protect him, I believe that I can keep what happened to you from happening to Naruto. He just has to find the will to pull through. I won't let anything happen to Sasuke either, my little brother will be okay once he gets past his anger." Itachi murmured to himself. As he watched Naruto sleep. He found he was willing to do whatever it took to keep the kid in front of him alive. He wouldn't allow those people to cause anyone anymore pain. Deidara would talk if Itachi had to resort to torture to make him.

Itachi stood up and stretched, turning towards the the doorway when he heard someone enter the room. It was only Tsunade.

"How is he?" she asks as walks over to the bed.

"His fever appears to be going down, and he woke up for a few minutes." Itachi replied.

"Good, the medicine I gave him appears to be working." Tsuande comments and proceeded to check Naruto over. Pausing when listening to his heart. She didn't like the uneven way it beat, but she figured Naruto wouldn't have to have surgery right then, but he would be having a transplant sometime in the future. She just hoped there was a heart to be found when it was needed.

"I guess his heart could be more damaged" Tsuande said, placing a gentle hand on Naruto's forehead.

"You're proving to be quite the fighter, Naruto" She said softly "hope you can find the strength to keep going in the coming days." Exiting the room, Tsunade decided there was only one thing she needed to do at the moment and that was to let a very worried father know that his son would make it through the night.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Despite the fact that I changed my user name it's still the same person writing this. Originally this wasn't the direction I intended for this story, but it works well so you can count on a lengthy story! Liz


	6. Chapter 6

Coming Together for Him

Chapter 6

Naruto awoke a few hours after Tsunade had been in to check on him. He remembered waking up earlier, hotter than he had ever been in his life. Naruto didn't feel that bad right now which meant Tsunade had probably figured out something that would help.

Looking over to his left, he found his father sitting there studying some papers.

"Dad" Naruto murmured and Minato looked up and gave him a small grin.

"Look whose awake. How do you feel?" he asked.

"Not too bad considering." Naruto said. He shifted in the bed to see Itachi standing at the door with a dark look on his face.

"Does he ever smile?" Naruto asked, he seemed to remember talking to Itachi for a few minutes before going back to sleep.

"He doesn't really have much to smile about." Minato said quietly knowing that Itachi probably heard him anyways. "But trust me when I saw I couldn't have found a better person to guard you."

"He said they caught the guy that drugged me." Naruto mentioned.

"They did, and we believe he will lead us to the main guys." Minato said.

"Doesn't that seem like it's been a little too easy?" Naruto asked. "When was catching a major criminal ever this easy?"

"We haven't caught the main one yet." Minato reminded him "but you are probably right. Itachi believes that they are trying to lay a trap." Naruto narrowed his eyes, he didn't like the sound of that especially if he would be the one used to bait the trap.

"Can't you give them what they want and be done with it?" Naruto asked.

"You know I can't." Minato replied "Because it would put all of Konoha at risk."

"So you don't mind risking my life to save people who could care less about you trying to save theirs?" Naruto asked bitterly. For once couldn't see his father that it was his own actions putting Naruto at risk. So much for his father wanting to protect him and keep him safe.

"I'm trying my best here, Naruto." Minato pointed out "the situation is very complicated."

"It shouldn't be." Naruto stated "it just comes down to whose more important your own son or people you don't even know."

"You can't just give in to people like this." Minato said with narrowed eyes "If I do they will be walking all over me for however long I am the Mayor." Naruto scowled. He was so tired of this situation, he was ready to go home and get back to school. He was tired of the near constant pain he was in.

"If you don't do something they are going to keep coming after me" Naruto grumbled. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life in the hospital."

"I'm doing the best I can, Naruto" Minato said patiently "but it's going to take a little time before things can get back to normal."

Naruto scowled and turned away to look out the window. His father wasn't the one lying in the hospital bed so he couldn't understand what Naruto was feeling.

"This whole situation would go a whole lot easier if you weren't being a brat about it. I know that its not easy for you to be in the hospital and away from your friends but you will be with them soon." Minato said frustrated.

"I won't be with them soon enough." Naruto said but he didn't add that he wasn't sure that he had friend's anymore. After all not a single one of them had bothered coming to the hospital since he had been admitted. Naruto was sure the whole school knew what had happened because someone was always around to feed the rumor mill.

Minato didn't say anything in reply to Naruto's attitude, he knew his son was frustrated but that frustration wasn't going to get things done by giving him attitude.

"I'll be back when you can get your attitude under control" Minato told him and Naruto snorted and refused to look in his father's direction. He'd been in the hospital almost two weeks now, he was more than ready to get away.

Minato shook his head and stepped away from Naruto's bed. He couldn't blame his son for being upset about his current situation, but he had to understand Minato had pledged to do what was best for the community. Was it really worth risking his son's life to protect everyone else? Naruto was the one who had suffered at the hands of these people, and he was apart of the community that Minato vowed to do his best by. Minato couldn't help but wonder if he was a failure as a father, it seemed like whatever decisions he made lately always led to his son getting hurt.

"Kushina, if you're looking down on us, please keep our son safe while I try to figure this situation out." Minato said softly before disappearing down the hallway.

Naruto lay in bed scowling out the window. It was just like his father to choose everyone else over his own family. He'd been doing it ever since he became Mayor, so why was Naruto not surprised that he wasn't about to change his ways, not even to keep his own son alive. Closing his eyes Naruto wondered if his father even loved him as much as he claimed to, if he did why didn't he just let this situation come to an end instead of dragging it out. Naruto desperately needed some peace.

"You're father means well" Itachi spoke from the doorway. "You shouldn't give him problems the man is stressed enough." Naruto snorted and turned to look at Itachi.

"Really? Seems to me he's just trying to make sure the citizens of Konoha are safe from these creeps."

"Last time I checked you were a citizen too." Itachi pointed out. Naruto rolled his eyes.  
"That's not the point I am trying to make." Naruto muttered, he was sick of lying in bed, being uncomfortable. His broken arm ached just about as badly as his chest. He figured the heart attack would leave him sore for a little while. "He's always been too busy to be a real father to me. He's always put everyone else in front of his own family. So might as well use me as bait, maybe this time they will actually succeed."

"That's enough." Itachi said "You're father loves you and is trying to protect you. You're being pretty selfish right now." Naruto narrowed his eyes and glared at Itachi.

"I'm selfish for stating the truth. He's never had time for me so might as well let those guys take me out. He won't have to worry about stressing over how to protect me." Naruto snapped. Irritated with Itachi for not seeing his side of things.

"At least he's a father that tries to protect you." Itachi stated "some kids have parents who couldn't care less if they were alive or dead."

Naruto sighed and turned away. It was pointless Itachi was clearly on his father's side. No one seemed to get that Naruto was the one stuck in bed, the one who had to deal with all the pain. He was tired of it, he just wanted things to go back to normal.

Twenty minutes later, Tsuande entered the room and proceeded to check Naruto over. She spent a few minutes listening to his heart.

"As badly as your heart is damaged. It sounds pretty good, so as long as you continue to do well through the night, I'm going to release you tomorrow as long as promise to take it easy, and don't play any sports. You don't need to add any stress to your heart. It's already working too hard as it is."

"Good." Naruto told her "I'm ready to go home. No offense to you but I am tired of being here."

"I'm sure you are." She said reaching out and ruffling his hair. She was glad the kid was going to be okay, she didn't like seeing him in the shape he'd been in. "I want you to come in once a week to have your heart looked at."

Naruto nodded he would agree to anything at this point. He hated that he wouldn't be able to play soccer anymore. But if he wanted to live to see his college days, he had better do whatever Tsunade told him to do.

That night, Naruto went to asleep easily knowing that he would be going home in the morning. He was happy that he would once more be able to rest in his own bed.

" _Naruto" a soft familiar voice called "My,son" Naruto looked towards the doorway and there was his mother._

" _Mom." He cried out before slipping out of his bed and going to her._

" _My brave, strong boy." She murmured. "I'm proud of you for surviving all that you have."_

" _The only thing I've done is stay in bed." Naruto replied "I'm not as strong as you think I am."_

" _But you are. You're still, kind and thoughtful. You're experience hasn't changed you. Your attitude comes from your frustration and that is perfectly acceptable." Kushina told him as if reading Naruto's mind. "I know how tired you are of this mess but I can promise you it will be over soon, and you will have the peace that you dream of." Naruto smiled her words bringing him peace. Though he wondered at what she meant when it was over, would he be dead or would the situation be at an end? He only hoped it would be the situation and not his life. He was 14 years old, he wasn't ready to say goodbye to all that he knew._

" _You'll be ready quicker than you think" Kushina murmured her face beginning to morph into that of the blonde man who had tried to poison him. Naruto stared back in horror as hands reached towards his throat. Naruto tried to back away but found himself cornered with no where to turn._

" _You're time is coming, Naruto Namikaze, you won't have anything to fear when you're dead!"_

With a jerk, Naruto found himself sitting up in his bed breathing hard. He could feel the sweat fall down his face. He wondered what had brought that dream on. He hoped that the man's message wouldn't come to pass. Surely his father could find some way to stop them. Naruto looked over beside the bed, his father's chair was still empty as it had remained since his father had left. Naruto wished then that his father was there, he needed to tell someone his fears. Something about that dream had seemed almost too real.

Even as Naruto lay back down stared up at the ceiling, he could feel his heart race as he struggled to calm down. He couldn't forget the fear, it felt like a snake had wrapped around him and refused to let go. Naruto was almost afraid to close his eyes, he didn't want to dream anymore.

Naruto lay there for several minutes, trying to calm his racing heart. When he heard the door open, Naruto turned to see who was entering and he froze.

"Naruto" A blonde haired man, named Deidara said "I believe you have an appointment with the grim reaper.

 **Thanks for reading and Reviewing! Liz**


	7. Chapter 7

Coming together for him

Chapter 7

Naruto stared at the man before him. How did he get past Itachi? Supposedly Itachi was the best at what he did.

"What did you do to Itachi?" Naruto asked, fearfully.

"Nothing" Deidara replied shrugging. "He let me in."

"That's not true, Itachi isn't like that" Naruto protested as Deidara started approaching him.

"I've been with them all along." Itachi told Naruto as he entered the room. "Turns out they pay better than private security does." Naruto swallowed hard, he wasn't sure that he had ever felt so betrayed in his life.

"So what was all that crap about protecting Sasuke from his parent's killers? Or did that even happen?" Naruto asked.

"I said what I had too in order to get you to trust me." Itachi replied as he took the syringe from Deidara.

"My father will hang you out to dry when he finds out what you are really up to." Naruto said as he attempted to back away from Itachi.

"Will he really?" Itachi wondered out loud "he thinks you're being a selfish brat about his whole situation. So do you really think he would care at this point?" Naruto didn't believe he had ever been so afraid, he had the feeling that they wouldn't kill him here. They would take him someplace else, kill him and then leave his body in a place where it would be convenient for his father to find. Naruto couldn't believe that Itachi had been in on it the entire time. If Naruto escaped this situation alive, he didn't think he would ever be able to trust another stranger as long as he lived.

"This whole situation could have been avoided if only Minato would give in to our demands" Itachi said reaching out and roughly grabbing Naruto's arm and wrenching it behind his back causing Naruto to cry out. He regretted arguing with his father over something so small, and now if Naruto didn't figure a way out of his current situation he wouldn't ever see his father alive again. That scared him more than anything Deidara and Itachi could tell him.

"Back off" Naruto snapped trying to kick Itachi, who quickly and harshly slapped Naruto across the face.

"Try that again" he said coldly "and I'll slit your throat and leave you here for your father to find." Naruto swallowed hard and allowed Itachi to roughly tie his wrists behind his back. Naruto's mind however, was struggling to find a way out. He didn't want to die, but he didn't want to go with them either. There had to be a way out, one that Naruto just couldn't see.

Before Naruto had the chance to mouth off again, Naruto felt a needle prick and he felt himself losing his hold on consciousness. The last thing he heard was Itachi ordering Deidara to make sure no one was coming, before throwing Naruto's limp body over his shoulder.

Naruto regained consciousness a few hours later, to find himself locked in a small cell that barely had any room for Naruto to move around in. He groaned at the pounding in his head and wondered if they had beaten him after he'd been knocked out. As Naruto sat there in the dark he wondered how he was going to get himself out of this mess. One thing was certain Itachi Uchiha was never to be trusted. Just the thought of Itachi's betrayal sent a wave of rage through Naruto's veins. His father had trusted Itachi, blindly it seemed. Apparently he didn't bother doing a background check of some sort. One would think that whoever employed Itachi as their private security officer that they would have done a better thorough check on Itachi, on all of their employees really. How else would they find out that they had a maniac working among them.

Naruto sighed and pressed his face against the bars of the cell, he glared at the guard who was standing beside his 'cage'. the guard swiftly rammed his fist in between the bars and right into Naruto's eye, causing him to cry.

"Shut up!" The guard ordered "I don't want to listen to you." Naruto glared harder. Wishing, that he could find a way to escape, but he was afraid that since he had no idea where he was it, escape would be futile. Naruto doubted he could find his way back to his home. Naruto sat back down and stared up at the ceiling. He wondered if his father knew he was gone yet. He wondered if his father would even want him back after everything was said and done. A tear dropped from Naruto's eye as he thought about the chances of him ever seeing his father again. Fear filled Naruto's heart as he thought about what this group of people wanted with him. He knew he wouldn't likely exit this cage alive ever again. Naruto just hoped that his dad would find out that Itachi was responsible for his disappearance and subsequent murder. Naruto would never get to see his family again because of some power/money hungry idiot. Did they not care that they were ripping families apart?

"Mom," Naruto closed his eyes as he murmured to his mother. "I'm really scared right now, I don't think there is going to be a chance that I get out of here alive." another tear dropped from Naruto's eye as be paused. "I'm worried about dad and how he'll handle my death. I just hope he's not the one to find my body. Please find some way to comfort him. He won't have anyone else." though he knew his mother hadn't heard him, it still brought Naruto a small measure of comfort to talk to someone whom he loved. He wondered what his friends would think about his current situation, he almost bet they would be sorry for the way they had treated him the last time they saw him.

Naruto sighed and stood, attempting to stretch his sore muscles, he wasn't sure how long he'd been in this cell, that was clearly hidden in some kind of cave away from any human population. How far away from home was he? Naruto only wished he could know the answer.

Naruto had started to pace back and forth across his small cell, when he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine.

"You won't be bored too long." Deidara said "They will be coming for you soon." Naruto turned and glared at him. He didn't need to be reminded that he wouldn't be leaving this place alive.

"My father will hunt you down and slaughter you like the pig you are!" Naruto hissed at Itachi, who only laughed darkly.

"I don't think so, I think he will be grieving and feeling guilty for allowing his own son to slip through his hands so easily." Deidara said coldly "He won't have time to hunt me down, besides I am good at disappearing, he will never find me."

Growling, Naruto threw himself at Deidara wishing that his hands could reach through the bars to wrap around the older man's throat. He wished he could cause Deidara just a small amount of fear that Deidara was causing his father.

Deidara calmly opened the door to Naruto's cell, and approaching the furious boy, Deidara took him by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall.

"You will be very careful of your next action if you even want your dear old dad to find your body." Deidara hissed into Naruto's ear as his hand squeezed Naruto's throat, leaving Naruto unable to breathe. "Come after me again and I promise you will never be found!" That being said Deidara squeezed until he saw the light starting to leave Naruto's eyes, once the teen was unconscious he threw Naruto to the floor and gave Naruto a sharp kick to the ribs.

"Deidara, you know the rules" Itachi said from the door to Naruto's cell. "Our Master doesn't wish Naruto to be bothered until it's time to slaughter him."

"It's just so much fun torturing him." Deidara said exiting the cell and slamming the door behind him. "Besides the punk needed to be taught a lesson, he's got a smart mouth on him."

"It's his way of trying to cope with the situation." Itachi said said "It's all bluff I wouldn't worry about anything he had to say."

Bet you didn't see that one coming! And if you want it to continue PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks again Liz


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